I spent six butt-numbing hours at the movies on Saturday, watching the Metropolitan Opera’s live broadcast of “Gotterdammerung” – the last of four operas based on the same Norse mythology that informed Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” It had spectacle, pageantry, and a buff-and-bitchin’ Siegfried who turned out to have a down-home Texas accent – it was a very successful day.

The only thing better than opera is frugal opera. In fact, the show didn’t cost me anything…

I paid for my $22 ticket with movie theater gift cards that I got for free by using a rewards credit card.

The theater is only about three blocks away, so I didn’t have to take a bus.

During intermissions, I left the auditorium (had to, my butt was asleep!) to stretch my legs. I also enjoyed a cinnamon raisin bagel, courtesy of another free gift card.

The soft drink I sipped during the show was free too, thanks to My Coke Rewards – and I was amused to find that large soft drinks mean free refills at this particular chain.

People don’t usually attend the opera to learn smart money practices. But composer Richard Wagner passed along some decent personal finance lessons in this soaring (and loud!) tale of greed, betrayal, mortal passion, and godly demise.

I say you should take personal finance tips wherever you find them, whether they’re from the mouth of a once-was-Valkyrie or a malevolent dwarf played by a regular-sized human. (When it comes to opera, the willing suspension of disbelief is a useful life skill.)

So here’s what I learned…

1. Money isn’t the be-all and end-all. Certainly it’s useful. Gunther has a ton of bucks, a swell castle, fancy clothes, and hot-and-cold running vassals. But it’s not enough. He wants more gold and more power. When is enough enough? After your first heart attack? (Although Gunther doesn’t live long enough to earn that infarction. He gets stabbed to death instead, a direct result of his greed.)

2. Don’t make big decisions based on partial information or strong emotion. Brunnhilde is rightly ticked off by Siegfried’s apparent betrayal, and she responds by telling an enemy how he can vanquish her strapping former sweetheart. What she doesn’t know is that his bad behavior was caused by a magic spell. So he ends up mortally wounded, remembering as he dies the glory that was Siegfried und Brunnhilde. Oops. So don’t invest in a “sure thing” without checking it thoroughly – or lend a panicked friend money without considering whether you can really afford it.

3. Your kids need to choose their own paths. That venal dwarf, Alberich, urges his son, Hagen, to obtain the magic ring so ol’ Dad can rule the world. This obsession with power infects his son, who decides to get the ring for himself. As you can imagine, this doesn’t end well.

4. If you go into a line of work you dislike, you probably won’t end up happy. Or even alive. As noted, Hagen is a crafty dude in search of power (read: the ring) but the machinations leave him “pale and exhausted, old before (his) time.” At the end, his focus on money and power leads to a watery grave. Maybe he should have enrolled in community college to learn HVAC instead of letting daddy-o influence his career choice.

5. Don’t lie to women. At one point Siegfried tells Gunther not to worry that Brunnhilde is furious at being bartered and betrayed, because “women’s anger fades quickly.” Um, no, it doesn’t – we just get really good at hiding it. Which brings me to the corollary lesson…

6. Don’t lie to men, either. Stretching the truth with either sex to get what you want will likely cost you, whether it’s in the form of lawsuits or physical revenge (a whole lotta that in opera in general).

7. Enjoy your youth but plan to get old. Siegfried is in the prime of his life and one hell of a street fighter, but he’s also pragmatic enough to mention that his limbs are sturdy “now, while I am young.” Yes, you should have a life but that doesn’t mean spending every dime you earn. Get some kind of individual retirement account going.

8. Plan to die too. After Siegfried sings his way off this mortal coil, there’s a bit of a tussle over the ring. He didn’t specify who should get it because he didn’t expect to die that day. (He should have listened to those Rhine Maidens. They tried to tell him.) Some people don’t expect to die ever – but when they do, they leave a big mess for their loved ones to untangle. Write a will, already.

Hope I haven’t spoiled the ending for you. But this is opera. You expect a whole bunch of people to die. At least they do it tunefully.

P.S. Free refills of large soft drinks aren’t necessarily a good idea during a show that long.

Pier 1 Imports takes up to 90% off its selection of clearance items. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping starts at $5, but orders of $49 or more qualify for free shipping via coupon code "FREESHIP49". (In-store pickup my also be available for a number of items.)

Pier 1 Imports takes up to 90% off its selection of clearance items. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping starts at ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 2 days ago

Macy's takes up to 70% off a selection of men's and women's clearance shoes. (Eligible items are marked.) Even better, cut an extra 30% off via coupon code "VIP". Pad your order with a beauty item (they start at $3) to bag free shipping; otherwise, shipping adds $10.95 or free on orders of $99 or more. Deal ends March 25. A couple of best bets, with prices after discount:

The North Face takes up to 40% off a selection of men's, women's, and kid's apparel. (Prices are as marked.) ... Read
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Updated: February 19, 2018

Crocs takes an extra 50% off its men's, women's, and kids' clearance styles during its Semi-Annual Clearance Event. (The discount applies in cart.) Shipping adds $4.99, or get free shipping on orders of $24.99 or more. That's tied with our September mention as the best no-minimum extra discount we've seen from Crocs in the past year. Deal ends March 20. A couple of best bets, with prices after discount:

Crocs takes an extra 50% off its men's, women's, and kids' clearance styles during its Semi-Annual Clearance Event. (The discount ... Read
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Updated: 3 days 15 hr ago

Dick's Sporting Goods takes up to 75% off a selection of clearance apparel, shoes, camping gear, sports items, and more. Shipping adds $5.99, although orders of $49 or more receive free shipping. (Large items may incur additional fees, as free shipping only covers up to $15 off the shipping cost. In-store pickup is also available for select items.) A couple of best bets:

Best Buy retail locations take an extra 50% off open-box luxury and built-in appliances via this printable coupon. Meanwhile, other ... Read
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Updated: 1 week 3 days ago

adidas via eBay cuts an extra 25% off select men's, women's, and kids' shoes and apparel. (Discount applies in cart.) Plus, all orders receive free shipping. A couple of best bets, with prices after the in-cart discount:

Hanes cuts up to 70% off its clearance items. Plus, all orders receive free shipping via coupon code "SHIPFREE". (Shipping normally adds $7.99 for all orders under $60.) Sizes and stock are limited for some items.

Columbia offers its Columbia Men's Powder Lite Hooded Jacket in several colors (Black pictured) for $59.99. Coupon code "COLMARCH60" cuts it to $47.99. Plus, Greater Rewards members receive free shipping. (Not a member? It's free to sign up.) That's the lowest price we could find in any color by $50. It's available in most sizes from S M to XXL. Deal ends March 27.

SanDisk Outlet Store takes up to 75% off a selection of USB flash drives, memory cards, headphones, and more. Plus, get an extra 10% off via coupon code "10OffOutletFS". Even better, the same code nets free shipping. Some exclusions apply. A couple of best bets, with prices after coupon:

Steep & Cheap takes up to 65% off a selection of Patagonia men's and women's clothing, accessories, and gear. (Prices ... Read
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Updated: 13 hr 24 min ago

For AMC Stubs Premiere members only, and with availability limited by ZIP code, Gofobo offers two tickets to an advanced screening of Ready Player One at select AMC Theatres nationwide for free. The viewing is scheduled for March 21 at 7 pm local time; tickets may sell out quickly.

Note: Although you can reserve your tickets without an AMC Stubs Premiere membership, you must show your membership card at your theater to redeem your ticket. The movie is scheduled for release on March 29.

For AMC Stubs Premiere members only, and with availability limited by ZIP code, Gofobo offers two tickets to an advanced ... Read
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Updated: 4 days 8 hr ago

At participating locations on April 2, Little Caesars will offer a freelunch combo with no purchase necessary. That's around a $5 savings, courtesy of 16-seed UMBC ousting the top-seeded Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. This offer is valid from 11:30 am to 1 pm local time. Other terms and conditions apply.

H&M takes up to 70% off a select items as part of its Big Spring Sale. (Prices are as marked.) Shipping adds $5.99, but orders of $40 or more receive free shipping via coupon code "0040". Kids' items start at $1.99, men's shirts at $3.99 $5.99, and women's dresses at $3.99.

H&M takes up to 70% off a select items as part of its Big Spring Sale. (Prices are as marked.) ... Read
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Updated: 3 days 6 hr ago

adidas via eBay offers its adidas Men's Lite Racer Shoes in Grey/White for $39.99. In-cart, it drops to $29.99. With free shipping, that's the lowest price we could find by $20. They're available in sizes 8 to 13.

Reebok via eBay takes up to 75% off shoes and apparel as part of its Friends & Family Sale. (Prices are as marked.) Plus, all orders bag free shipping. Sizes and stock may be limited. A couple of best bets:

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Updated: 3 days 6 hr ago

IKEA has dropped its shipping charges, with large item delivery starting now at a staggering low of $29! Wait, what? Yes, you heard correctly. With a previous starting price of $99 (and current maximum price of $59) for large items, that yields a $70 savings in many cases. Plus, the shipping rate for small items has been reduced from a starting price of $10 to a flat rate of $9. Although we briefly saw free shipping on orders of $250 or more in October, it still yields some of the greatest widespread savings we've ever seen from IKEA.

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Updated: February 14, 2018

Udemy continues to offer a selection of online courses for free. Each course includes hours of content, and most are by far the best deals we could find for such classes. Here are a few interesting ones:

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Updated: 1 week 17 hr ago

Lowe's takes up to 75% offclearance items, with prices starting from 74 cents. (Most prices are as marked, but some items receive discounts in cart.) Plus, MyLowe's members bag free shipping on most orders. (Not a member? It's free to join. Larger items may incur oversized shipping fees.) A couple of best bets:

This summer, NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe. Sign up here for free to put your name in a memory card that will fly aboard the craft. A meaningless gesture, but no less cool for that (so-to-speak).

The probe is designed to get closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history and collect new data on solar activity and its effects on Earth; it will orbit the sun at around 450,000 miles per hour (which would take you from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. in one second). The launch window for the probe is between July 31 and August 19, and it should make its first close approach in December 2024. The deadline for submitting your name is April 27.

This summer, NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe. Sign up here for free to put your name in a ... Read
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Updated: 2 days 7 hr ago

Shively Sporting Goods via eBay offers the adidas Men's Climalite Game Time Polo Shirt in White for $9.99 with free shipping. That's $3 under our September mention and is the lowest price we could find by $17. It's available in size S only.